GdS: Predicted XIs for Udinese vs. Milan – Pavlovic recovers to retain place

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri has one more day of training to decide the team to face Udinese, but he already has some ideas.

Milan are looking to build on back-to-back wins in Serie A against Lecce (0-2) and Bologna (1-0). The defensive record has been particularly pleasing with three clean sheets in four competitive games so far, and numbers suggesting it is the strongest rearguard in Europe so far.

Of course the sample size is small and the opponents played have not been particularly daunting. However, it certainly provides a positive platform from which to build at least a top four push.

Udinese vs. Milan: Predicted starting XIs

Starting with the known absences: Rafael Leao will be out again with a calf issue, Ardon Jashari is still recovering from a leg fracture and Mike Maignan also picked up a calf problem in the last game, so he will miss out.

La Gazzetta dello Sport expected Allegri to go back to a 3-5-2 after being forced to use a 3-5-1-1 against Bologna. The good news is Strahinja Pavlovic has shaken off a flexor problem and should start alongside Matteo Gabbia and Fikayo Tomori, with Pietro Terracciano in goal.

Alexis Saelemaekers and Pervis Estupinan should be the wing-backs who flank a midfield trio of Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot. Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic are tipped to lead the line as the front two.

Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Terracciano; Tomori, Gabbia, De Winter; Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Rabiot, Estupinan; Gimenez, Pulisic.

Predicted Udinese XI (3-5-2): Sava; Bertola, Kristensen, Solet; Ehizibue, Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Atta, Zemura; Davis, Bravo.

ℹ️ The predicted XIs for #UdineseMilan, according to @Gazzetta_it.

🤔 Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/467NBTWPuR

— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) September 19, 2025